Propane Fire Training

A couple of nights a year I let the local volunteer fire department set up some propane tanks on the far end of my pasture for night time propane fire training. They hook up a propane line from a tank a couple of hundred feet away to a tank with some "leaks". They use a highway flare on a long pole to ignite the propane, and then the fire crews practice cooling the tank and getting the fire out. As soon as one crew would finish, another crew would have a go at it. It was a damp and cold night with temperature in the mid 40's I'd guess, but the perspiration is real on the faces of the firefighters.

Hard and hot work!

Advancing on the fire.


The next crew, ready to go.


Very spectacular fires!


The firefighters carry their own air supplies on their backs.


It gives you a lot of respect for the power of propane.

The reflective strips really reflect light, and the reflected light made it difficult for the camera to judge exposures. Even so, it was quite an evening's entertainment.....